The Medieval Delusion
by Felix Sterreira
Summary: Sequel to He Who Calls. After a little screwup, most of the gang is trapped in one of Odd's computer games. Sirs Milo, Odd, and Xanite joined by the sellswords Ulrich and Yumi try to rescue Princess Aelita from Lord Xana. But will Jeremy be safe? AxOC UxY
1. Chapter 1

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 1

_"Jeremy? What's happening?"_

_"I don't know! The return to the past! It… Ah!"_

Odd woke up with a headache. Then he realized he was lying in the grass. And Milo was right next to him. And they were both wearing medieval peasant clothes. Milo had a long, thin case strapped to his side and was carrying a bronze flag with a strange mark on it. A sword crossed with a rose. Odd recognized it as the symbol on the back of Milo's Lyoko ID Card. Odd himself had a blowgun and a pack of darts tied to his belt.

"Odd! Are you alright?" asked Milo.

"Milo? What happened? We were in the Factory and there was a return to the past…"

"Factory? What?" said Milo. He seemed confused. "Have you amnesia?"

"Why are we in this clearing? What happened to our clothes?"

"We fought off some of the evil wizard Xana's monsters. One knocked you out and you just woke up. We are on our way to rescue Princess Aelita and Sir Xanite from Xana's clutches."

"What? Xana has Aelita and Xanite?"

"Yes, he does. And unless we hurry Aelita will be forced to marry Xana."

"Where are Jeremy and Ulrich? And Yumi?"

"Speak you of the wizard Jeremiah? I know not of any Ulrich or Yumi."

"But what has been happening all along?"

"Aelita and I were in love when Xana saw her great beauty and kidnapped her. I set off to get her back, and on the way I met you and Xanite, Xana's brother. You pledged allegiance to my cause and we continued, Xana's minions hounding us the whole way. On the way, they kidnapped Xanite and sent him to be locked up with Aelita. We got here and were attacked. You were knocked out and when you woke up, you had amnesia."

"We have to keep on going," said Odd. "If we find Aelita, Xanite, Jeremy, Ulrich, and Yumi, one of them is bound to know what happened."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Let's go. Wait, are you armed?"

"Yes," said Milo. He pulled something out of the case. A sword with a blade coming out of either end, a hilt in the middle. "Now we go." They walked off in the direction of a looming castle.

"Sir Xanite," said Aelita as she paced the tower. She wore a radiant pink dress. "How are we going to get out of this?"

"I know not, my lady," said Xanite. He wore a full suit of armor, with an axe dangling from his side. "Weapons do little to the defenses, and your magic is blocked by the force field."

"Can we not find a way to trick our way out?"

"The guards ignore whatever we say. Even if we were to pledge allegiance to Xana here and now they would not let us go."

"It would not work. Your allegiance is already sworn to Sir Milo. Xana can see the bonds of the mind."

"We can do very little but wait for Sir Milo and Sir Odd to get to us. I will continue searching for ways to get out."

"I will help," said Aelita as Xanite walked over to the wall and traced his hand along it. "They may have the trapdoor sealed by magic, but I may be able to perform the counter-spell." They set about their work.

_"What do you mean you sent Milo, Aelita, Xanite, Xana, Odd, and Ulrich to a fantasy game world?"_

_"I'm sorry, ok! Odd left his stupid computer game lying around and I put it in instead of the proper software. It put Milo, Xanite, and Odd into the roles of knights trying to rescue the princess, Milo being the one she falls in love with. Aelita is the princess, but she also knows a considerable amount of magic, so she should be okay. Ulrich has been turned into a mercenary. And Xana is a dark wizard betrothed to Aelita."_

_"But Xanite and Xana were dead. This was just a routine trip to Lyoko. It's not even the first annual check-up yet! I'm still fifteen, Aelita's still fourteen, and they're all still too young to do this!"_

_"Xana and Xanite being dead doesn't matter. The files still existed; they just weren't active. Of course, activating one would always activate the other."_

_"And now Xana is active again."_

_"But only on this software. It's the Code Earth Dilemma all over again. We can't scrub the game because that kills everyone along with Xana. Only this time a Code Earth can't fix it."_

_"What does?"_

_"They beat the game. Another downside is, even if they can, we still have to delete Xanite along with Xana or Xana can come back. It's the Xanite Moral Dilemma again as well."_

_"Is there any hope?"_

_"Yes. Odd still retains memory of the real world. I have to send you into the game. If you tell him what happened, he'll remember how to beat the game easily."_

_"Jeremy, if I go into the game, it's a fifty-fifty chance I'll lose my memory too."_

_"I know, Yumi. I wish you luck."_

_"Can you communicate with us? Or give me futuristic weapons that no one has ever seen?"_

_"No and no. You'll be wherever the game puts you, weapons-wise. If you can find Aelita, though, there's a good chance she can establish a link with me. I have an identity in the game too. Jeremiah the sorcerer. He's what I would be in the game if I went. He might be able to establish a link with me as well."_

_"All right. I'm going."_

_"I can cover for you for three days. You have to beat the game by then."_

_"All right."_

_"Scanner, Yumi. Transfer, Yumi. Translation, Yumi. Virtualization!"_


	2. Chapter 2

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 2

_"Friends… You have the greatest hearts of anyone in the world… If this can be done, it can be done by you."_

_"How touching."_

_"You!"_

Yumi was surprised to find she remembered everything. Jeremy, the return to the past, everyone stranded, and all the rest. She noticed that nothing looked artificial like it did on Lyoko or Troy or Xanadu. Everything looked completely real. This game had good graphics. She inspected her appearance. A peasant's clothes, with two strange weapons on her hands. They were kukris. Punching-daggers. The metal looped back around her hand so that when she curled her fist a deadly sharp point was sticking straight out. She was sitting at a bar, with a cup on the table in front of her.

"What art thou doing here?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a table of rough looking thugs jeering at her.

"As if it's business of yours," she snapped back.

"Oh, you have claws, do you?" asked the biggest thug. He stood up and took a halberd out of the corner. The others followed suit, each and every one picking up an identical copy of the leader's weapon.

"Six on one?" came a voice from behind Yumi as she readied her kukris.

"Ulrich!" she exclaimed. He stood there in shining armor, a huge sword resting on his shoulder. He pulled it down and held it at the ready.

"That is my name," said Ulrich.

"Enough talk," said a thug as he swirled his halberd in a huge circle. Ulrich jumped out and shoved his sword in front of the blade. It got caught as Yumi ran up and stabbed him with one of her hands. Ulrich pulled in the grunt's weapon and tossed it in to another thug as they charged. The man vanished as they died, but Ulrich didn't seem to notice. Yumi ran up and started spinning, her daggers impaling men as she went. Ulrich took out the two she missed.

"You're quite good," said Ulrich. "Who are you?"

"Yumi Ishiyama," said Yumi. "Are you a mercenary?"

"Yes, I am. Do you need services?"

"It will be dangerous if you accept."

"What is the mission?"

"We have to find Sir Milo Salian and Sir Odd Della Robbia and help them free the Princess Aelita and Sir Xanite from Xana's clutches," said Yumi, all in one breath.

"Xana and Xanite are brothers, correct?" said Ulrich. "As I understand it, there was some kind of power struggle between them. Xana won and banished Xanite from his castle. Then Xanite and Odd Della Robbia met up with this Sir Milo you speak of and swore allegiance to him."

"Why is their swearing allegiance to Milo special?"

"Xana and Milo have one skill in common. They see the mental bonds between people. When Odd and Xanite swore allegiance to Milo, they inextricably tied themselves to his cause. If they ever try to betray him, he'll know instantly."

"And Xana sees these bonds too?"

"That is one of the reasons he turned evil in the first place. He saw that so many people were tied to each other, but none were tied to him. He is trying to bind Princess Aelita to him, but she is already bound to Milo in the way he wants her to be bound to him. Additionally, he is jealous because she is also bound to Xanite and Odd."

"And how do you know all this?"

"I see the bonds too. And for reasons I don't understand, you are bound tightly to the wizard Jeremiah, Milo, Odd, Xanite, Aelita, and tightest of all, me."

"So will you help me?"

"Yes. We set out now."

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"I have every right. I know all the secrets. What's happening now, Jeremy?"_

_"All right, William. If you have to know, I made a little mistake with a return to the past."_

_"Where are the others?"_

_"Inside a medieval video game. Only Odd and Yumi remember our world at all."_

_"Wait a minute. You accidentally sent everyone into a medieval video game?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Is Xana doing anything now."_

_"Damn. I was hoping you wouldn't ask. He and Xanite got put in the game as well."_

_"Then get rid of the game! Scrub the memory or something!"_

_"And kill Milo, Aelita, Odd, Ulrich, Xanite and Yumi?"_

_"If you have to. Jeremy, think about this. If Xana gets loose ever again, he'll kill us all."_

_"Yes. But if I kill him now, they're all dead anyway."_

_"I'm destroying the game, Jeremy. Whether you help me or not."_

_"What? No! Ow!"_

_"Now, where is the disk drive with the game in it?"_

_"Ow…"_

_"Tell me!"_

_"Never…"_

_"You're killing innocents, Belpois! What was that? What did you just do?"_

_"Moved… Disk into bowels of factory… You'll never find it now…"_

_"I'm detaching your fake hand and your fake leg, Jeremy. You won't be able to stop me."_

_"I already did… Ow! Ah! Ah!"_

_"Just lie there. I know that you think you're doing a good thing, but it's not."_

_"You're not William… You're the… Imprisoned One…"_

_"Clever, aren't you?"_

_"Where's… William?"_

_"Good-bye, Jeremy. I'll take care of you after I get rid of the game."_


	3. Chapter 3

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 3

_"Jeremy! What happened?"_

_"William! The Imprisoned One is loose and disguised as you. Are you him, then?"_

_"No, he isn't. Hello, William."_

_"You."_

_"I especially look forward to killing you."_

"Hey, Milo, how far away is this place?" said Odd as they walked down the dirt road.

"Far, Odd, very far," Milo shot back.

"Travelers! How fare you?" a deep voice echoed out of the woods. A man in monk robes stepped out.

"Tired and hungry," moaned Odd.

"I am Brother Sam. Sam Which." Odd laughed. Brother Sam and Milo stared at him. "Do you find something funny?" asked the monk interestedly.

"You know, sandwich," said Odd. They continued to stare. "Forget it."

"How fare you, Brother Sam?" asked Milo. "Well, I hope."

"I know you! You are the noble Sir Milo the Skilled!"

"That is what they called me in the military, yes," said Milo.

"My dear boy, the rumors are flying about your valiant mission to save Princess Aelita!" said Brother Sam excitedly. "And your companions, Sir Xanite the Fierce and Odd the Trickster!"

"What know you of us?" asked Milo. "What rumors do fly?"

"That you love the Princess and intend to kill Xana."

"That is true."

"Two mercenaries are looking for you. They call themselves Ulrich and Yumi."

"Ulrich and Yumi!" said Odd. "They are here!"

"Yes, they're inside my house. I gave them shelter for the night. Come meet them, if you wish. I will support you on your mission."

"All right," said Milo. They walked into a small cottage in a clearing in the woods. Yumi and Ulrich sat by a fire.

"Odd! Milo!" said Yumi.

"Yumi! Do you remember too?" asked Odd.

"Yes, I do, but Ulrich doesn't."

"Remember what?" asked Milo and Ulrich in unison.

"Nothing," said Yumi. "Just… Sir Odd and I have fought together before. An occasion of some note. When the wizard Jeremiah was attacked by the Imprisoned One." She said the last words with emphasis and Odd stifled a gasp. The Imprisoned One attacked Jeremy. "We went on to fight on the outer lines while good Sir William stayed behind to defend Jeremiah!"

"Yumi! How is your memory so accurate?" asked Odd. She understood the real question. How do you know all this?

"A magic link that Jeremiah had not anticipated," said Yumi. Again, Odd understood that a way had been left open for Yumi to hear what was going on in the Factory, but Jeremy hadn't known about it.

"Sir Milo the Skilled, might we join you on your quest?" asked Ulrich as he knelt before Milo.

"Of course. I welcome the help."

"I pledge my sword to you then, Milo," said Ulrich.

"And mine as well," said Yumi.

"Allow me to explain the pay," said Milo.

"None is necessary. We leave tomorrow," said Ulrich. "If Brother Sam will house us."

"Of course. Heroes do need their supporters," said Sam. "You must have something to eat."

"I'll just sleep," said Milo.

"All right! Food!" said Odd as he ran toward the table.

_"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, William."_

_"I won't let you hurt anyone."_

_"I'll kill Jeremy unless he tells me where he sent the disk to."_

_"Told you… Deep in Factory… You'll never find it… _I'll _never be able to find it."_

_"Then how do you destroy Xana in the end?"_

_"I… Scrap it from terminal… Terminal's locked now… The password… I won't tell… Ah! AHHHH!"_

_"Jeremy!"_

_"You dare to strike me?"_

_"I dare, Imprisoned One, to do anything to save a friend."_

_"My mind is leagues stronger then yours, human."_

_"It is. I was never able to fathom your plans. I couldn't tell how you were betraying them. But I do know this: You won't scrap that disk without getting a few people off of it first."_

_"Obviously true. I need Xana out."_

_"You also need Aelita."_

_"What?"_

_"All this time, I've been thinking. You split yourself into three pieces and you weren't human anymore. But you aren't Xana. You didn't put them into fragments. You kept one. You put one in Xana to make him sentient. That was all you intended to do. But Xana couldn't handle it. He divided you up more. Part of you is in Aelita. That's why Xana never tried to kill her. Keep her off Lyoko? Absolutely. Use the Scyphozoa on her? Great. Throw her in the Digital Sea and make her a Xanadore? Best of all. But never kill her."_

_"What are you saying?"_

_"Odd Della Robbia said it once, too, because he realized how important Aelita was to you and Xana. If you get her and Xana here and delete everyone else, I'll kill her. And you and Xana will die too."_

_"She won't let you."_

_"On the contrary. If I don't have a weapon, all I have to do is explain it to her and she'll kill herself."_

_"She always has a part of me in her."_

_"But it never affects her thinking. And when you die, the last part leaves her. Don't think you can hide. I've been inside your sick head."_

_"You die now."_


	4. Chapter 4

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 4

_"Why did you not object to Aelita having a bit of you?"_

_"You've all been so sure that Franz Hopper was good and the Imprisoned One was evil. You took the words of that moron Xanite at face value. None of you ever thought that maybe the Imprisoned One was Franz Hopper after all. Capable of good and evil."_

_"I don't believe you!"_

_"Ah!"_

"Pacing will do no good, princess," said Xanite as Aelita paced the tower. "You know as well as I do that only the most powerful magic was used."

"Have you considered the horrors, Xanite?" asked Aelita, continuing her circular pattern. "What if we never see Milo again? Or Odd?"

"We will. I always find a way out."

"This fortress is said to be impenetrable."

"So is your heart. Milo went there. So did Odd and I, though not as deep as him."

"Remind me not of my childhood," said Aelita with a grimace.

"Too late," said Xanite with a grin. "You're already thinking about it. Good. Some mundane misery will take your mind off this elevated misery."

"Has your humor always been so black?"

"It is my job to keep you entertained."

At the house of Brother Sam, everyone was asleep. Yumi and Ulrich lay next to each other on their backs, breathing heavily. Odd was sitting against a wall, snoring lightly. Milo lay curled in front of the fire. He made no sound at all. Brother Sam came in with a bugle. He blew as loud as he could.

"Ah!" said Milo as he stood up, double-sword flying out of its sheath. Yumi and Ulrich also leapt to their feet, weapons drawn. Odd kept on snoring. "What was that?" asked Milo as he rubbed his ears.

"My bugle," said Brother Sam. "I decided to give you a small head-start before the police come."

"You betrayed us!"

"On the contrary. You are atheists and Satanists. My only duty is to God."

"Xana is a Satanist!" screamed Odd. "Help against him!"

"The police are all loyal to God. I'm sure they can vanquish Xana after they vanquish you."

"Are you so deluded as to think the police can kill the most powerful sorcerer since the wizard Jeremiah?" asked Milo quietly.

"You were so deluded as to think you could," said Brother Sam. "And to be frank, Sir Milo, you did not have the power of God behind you."

"There is no God to power me," said Milo. "And I have here a better and braver team of fighters then you could find anywhere else. Each of us is worth ten police forces."

"Enough! You will not blaspheme here!" said Sam as he charged a spell. A small black ball of energy appeared in his hands. "The power of Christ repels you!" He threw the ball into Milo's stomach.

"Attack!" shouted Ulrich. They ran forward as Sam raised his arms.

"Creepers," he said in the tone reserved for powerful summoning spells. Several disgusting monsters appeared, firing off spells as they charged forward. Milo had gotten up and his sword was drawn. Sam continued to fire spells as his Creepers were picked off.

_"All very well, William. I will go for now. But I will return later."_

_"Go to hell!"_

_"William… Computer…"_

_"All right. I'm putting back on your hand and leg."_

_"Thanks… I feel better. Milo is down to eighty life points!"_

_"How are the others?"_

_"Not much better."_

_"What's Yumi at?"_

_"Ninety. And Ulrich's the same. Oh god, Odd's down to seventy."_

_"Look! Is that a Lyoko ID card for Brother Sam?"_

_"Yes. And it's doing a standard VS program with Milo!"_


	5. Chapter 5

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 5

_"Jeremy. Can you send me?"_

_"William, I need you here. What if the Imprisoned One comes back?"_

_"Ok, you're right. What happens if someone gets down to zero life points?"_

_"I can't exactly tell yet. They might get trapped in Limbo."_

_"What's Limbo?"_

_"It's the in-between world, a realm in the middle of everything. It exists inside Aelita's mind."_

_"Jeremy! You have to destroy Limbo?"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because, we know there's a fragment of the Imprisoned One in Aelita's mind. What if it's a place? What if it's Limbo?"_

_"You're right! I'll work on it right away. But if they don't get to go to Limbo, they'll die."_

_"Then can we do it?"_

_"Hell, William, yes. They'll probably die anyway, Limbo or not."_

"Get thee to hell, infidel!" shouted Sam as he shot energy at Milo.

"Sorry," said Milo. "I don't believe in hell." He plunged his sword into Sam, spinning it and splitting Sam in half.

"Damn thee to oblivion!" said Sam as he vanished.

"Sir Milo," said Ulrich, stepping forward. "We took care of the Creepers."

"Excellent. Now we have to go before the police arrive."

"It's too late," said Yumi as she looked out the window. "They're here! And Xanite is with them!"

Princess Aelita was still pacing her tower. They had taken Xanite. They were going to use him against the others. And just to humor her, they had lifted the anti-magic force field but doubled the protections on everything in the room. She prepared her strongest magical blast. She readied it and fired at the trapdoor. It creaked down an inch. The lock rusted a tiny bit. Nothing else happened. She sighed. Xanite would have to fend for himself.

"We have Sir Xanite," said the policeman from outside. "Come out with your hands up and you can see him."

"We have Brother Sam," said Milo. "We will trade for him."

"Milo!" whispered Odd. "What are you doing?"

"Bluffing," said Milo. "If we get Xanite back, it's worth the trouble."

"You're crazy," said Yumi. "But it will work. I hope so, anyway."

"Release Brother Sam Which immediately!"

"Give us Xanite, you morons!" shouted Odd. There was a pause for a minute.

"We are sending in Xanite. Send out Brother Sam."

"All right, but not until we see Xanite." Xanite flew through the door, bound and gagged.

"Xanite!" Yumi sliced off the gag.

"It's a trap!" he shouted.

_"They trapped Xanite?"_

_"As soon as the gag is removed the spells they prepped will be released. And they'll do serious damage to whoever they hit."_

_"How many life points?"_

_"Sixty per hit. Two hits and any of them will be dead. I don't envy their chances of not getting hit at all, but I think they should be okay."_

_"Okay? Check how many life points Xanite has, Jeremy."_

_"Oh my god. Twenty life points left. What did they even do to him?"_

_"I don't know that!"_

_"William, calm down. We're all on the same side."_

_"You're right. I'm sorry. Can you do anything to help them?"_

_"No. There's nothing I can program in that world. And we can't go, because then the Imprisoned One would just destroy everything."_

_"Yes. I would."_

_"He's here!"_


	6. Chapter 6

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 6

_"Leave, Imprisoned One."_

_"Not happy to see me then, Jeremy?"_

_"Jeremy. Keep an eye on them. See if you can help. In the mean time, I can take care of him."_

_"All right, then. Have at thee, Willy!"_

_"Don't call me Willy!"_

"Spells!" said Xanite as the curses flowed out of his mouth. "Dodge them!"

"Acrobat!" said Milo as he performed amazing flips.

"Did he say Acrobat?" Odd asked Yumi as they ducked. "Our Lyoko abilities work! Shield!" A small purple circle appeared in front of his arm. The spells ricocheted off it.

"Super Sprint!" Ulrich shouted as he moved back and forward at near-light speed.

"Telekinesis doesn't exactly work on energy!" said Yumi. But the last of the spells were crashing into the walls. "Wow. We didn't get hit even once."

"Yeah," said Xanite. "How great is that? Hey, Milo? Would you mind untying me?"

"Xanite!" said Odd as he noticed that Xanite was covered in bleeding cuts. "What did they do to you?"

"The Rack, then the Scavenger's Daughter, then a good stint in the Shackles," said Xanite with no trace of a smile. "Then they hacked me up a bit with some rusty daggers." Yumi was rigid with empathy.

"How did you survive?" asked Milo as he untied him. The ropes fell off and Xanite stood up. His axe was jammed into his leg.

"They never wanted to kill me," said Xanite as he pulled it out. It bled, and Ulrich ran off to get some bandages from Sam's closet. "They sent me with a message."

"What?" asked Ulrich as he tied the bandages tightly.

"Three days. Then Aelita gets the same as me," said Xanite. "Unless the police come back with a promise from you not to interfere in the wedding."

"The police," Milo muttered, and ran to the window.

"You heard the prisoner," boomed the police chief.

"Bladerang!" shouted Milo as he threw the double-sword out the window. It chopped a few policemen in half and they vanished, then it flew back into his hand.

"Wow. That's an interesting power," observed Odd.

"It's the same thing he does with his hat," said Yumi.

"What hat?" asked Ulrich as he finished bandaging Xanite.

"Nothing," said Odd and Yumi simultaneously.

"Are you guys going to help?" asked Milo from the window. "If not, give me your weapons. I can Bladerang them too."

"I'll go," said Ulrich. He ran outside.

"Is he insane?" asked Xanite interestedly.

"No," said Yumi. "Just confident."

"Bladerang!" There was another dropping of policemen as Milo ran out, blades twirling. "Look, come help Ulrich or try and find Sam's spell book, but as we're in the middle of a battle, please do something."

"Go," said Xanite. "I can find the book, and I can cast a few spells out of it."

"All right," said Yumi, and she and Odd joined Milo's charge.

_"Willy, Willy. You're a bit rusty."_

_"Damn it! Jeremy, a bit of help would be nice!"_

_"It's on its way."_

_"Not quite, Will- Will- Will-"_

_"What did you just do to him?"_

_"He put too much of his DNA into digital code. I just fed him a loop."_

_"Will- Will- Will-"_

_"Wow. How are the others doing?"_

_"Bad. Xanite is almost dead. The others are doing their best to fight a police force, but there are still 114 policemen left. And one is Commander Lawrence."_

_"Who?"_

_"One of the Three Commanders in the game. There are Six Bosses. The Three Commanders, the Two Generals, and Xana. They're in a bit of trouble."_

_"You have a way of understating everything. How's Aelita?"_

_"Just as not good. It's five days until the wedding. And if Milo doesn't give his word not to interfere, they're going to maul her in three."_

_"Oh my god! Aelita…"_

_"You really care about her, huh?"_

_"I wouldn't steal her from Milo. I feel more like her big brother."_

_"That's good. I made that mistake once…"_

_"I heard."_

_"Will- Will- Oh, that's it!"_

_"Oh my god! How did you get free?"_

_"I couldn't bear to listen to you talk about my daughter like that!"_

_"Your daughter? I told you I didn't buy that!"_

_"I don't care!"_


	7. Chapter 7

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 7

_"You are not Aelita's father!"_

_"Oh Jeremy, what is the Imprisoned One's name?"_

_"I found it a while back. Frazier Pohonp."_

_"Do the anagram, genius."_

_"What is it, Jeremy?"_

_"Franz I. O. Hopper."_

_"What does I.O. stand for?"_

_"Imprisoned One."_

"Finally done," said Milo. "Except for Commander Lawrence." Everything was gone except for one man at the very back. Ulrich had been injured, but it was a light wound. Everyone else was fine.

"Come forth, Milo," said Lawrence. "I shall defeat thee."

"Frazier Pohonp!" Yumi suddenly shouted. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed. She kept on shouting. "Frazier Pohonp! Franz I. O. Hopper! Frazier Pohonp! Imprisoned One!" She started to roll around.

"You see?" said Lawrence triumphantly. "Your colleague is possessed by Satan."

"Odd!" shouted Yumi. "Imprisoned One has Jeremy! Odd! Frazier Pohonp is Franz I. O. Hopper!"

"What does she mean?" asked Milo.

"Nothing," said Odd firmly. "She's prone to flashbacks to the time we helped the wizard Jeremiah." But Odd understood.

"Lawrence!" Ulrich roared. He charged forward and slashed his sword at Lawrence.

"Need any help?" Xanite called from the window. A few bursts of energy flew from his outstretched fingers and crashed into Lawrence's stomach. Ulrich struck hard as the spells did. But Lawrence stood firm, and as Ulrich bent forward, he pushed his spear in.

"Ah," Ulrich breathed. He fell forward, impaling himself further through the stomach.

"Ulrich!" Odd screamed, running forward to pull his oldest friend off the blade. "Ulrich!" Ulrich groaned as Odd pulled back and forth. Odd raged inside, and pulled a dart out of his pocket. Time seemed to slow down. He raised it to face height, and plunged it into Lawrence's eye.

"Blind me, yet I still win," muttered Lawrence. He vanished slowly, and as he did, he shoved the spear all the way through Ulrich and it dropped out his back.

"Ulrich! You aren't dead!" screamed Odd. He bent over Ulrich's body, crying. "You aren't dead! You are not!"

"Not yet," said Xanite. The steely glint that Milo had come to associate with miracles appeared in his eyes. "Not if I have anything to say about it." He raised a hand over Ulrich and put the other on the book. "Heal," he muttered. "Come on, God. Condescend to a Satanist and just freaking help."

"Oh no," said Yumi. She was putting her hand on the book as well. "Please."

"I'll check vitals," said Odd. He put a hand to Ulrich's chest. "Not there," he managed to mutter before he burst into tears.

Far away in Aelita's tower, she had established a link with another world. She peered through a window and saw a dark-haired boy fighting a tall man.

_"Ulrich is dead! Zero life points!"_

_"It's a shame you won't be around to see his funeral."_

_"Ow! Ow! Oh my god! Ow! Ow!"_

_"Stop!"_

_"Too late, William!"_

_"Ow! Ow! God!"_

_"My work in here is done. To the Super-Calculator!"_

_"Jeremy… No pulse… Wait… What's that on the screen?"_

_"Who is this?"_

_"Is that Aelita?"_

_"Who is this?"_

_"William."_

_"Is that the wizard Jeremiah?"_

_"Yes, and he and the mercenary Ulrich are dead. Can you help them?"_

_"I think. But, um, these pictures around me… They say life points, yes?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I need some extras of those."_

_"Where from?"_

_"I can get some from me. Will you give any?"_

_"Aelita… I offer all my life points to you."_

_"I only need half."_

_"All right."_

_"Um… Okay. I'm doing it."_

_"All right. This boy is called Jeremy Belpois. I'm William Dunbar. Ulrich is Ulrich Stern."_

_"William Dunbar, fifty, to Jeremy Belpois, ten, and Ulrich Stern, ten. Preparation… Initiation… Transmutation!"_

_"Ah… Okay. I'm all right. Why do they only get ten?"_

_"We needed to replace their whole life forces. We'll be lucky to get ten. If we aren't, we might get five or it might not work."_

_"William… Why am I alive?"_

_"You are Jeremy?"_

_"Aelita!"_

_"Oh no! The link is fading!"_

_"Aelita!"_

_"Good-bye, William…"_

_"She's gone."_

_"But I'm alive."_


	8. Chapter 8

He Who Calls

Chapter 8

_Journal of Odd Della Robbia_

_Another Entry_

_Forget it, Odd. If she had _been_ asked out there would have been a chance. But she asked him out. She likes him, not me._

_She didn't know you liked her!_

_She didn't know if Milo liked her._

_You've known her longer._

_And in all that time she's never laughed at one of my jokes. She laughs at Milo's._

_He's only twelve!_

_He's a genius. I have conversations with myself in my diary._

_Journal of Aelita Hopper_

_Mixed Feelings Entry_

_I asked Milo out and he said yes! On the other hand, Odd asked me to go to the dance with him. I wouldn't have gone with him no matter what I knew about whether he liked me. He knows _I _asked _Milo_ out. He's probably heartbroken. I feel sorry for him, but I only like him as a friend. It can't be changed. But hey, I'm going out with Milo! This really is a mixed feeling entry._

_Journal of Milo Salian_

_First Entry_

_Aelita recommended keeping a journal. I put it off for a while, but now I have nothing better to do. I didn't exactly know she liked me. Ulrich said to me a few weeks ago, "I think a certain pink-haired girl is paying a lot of attention to you." I thought he was joking. But maybe emotions are just something everyone can see but me. I've been told I'm less then human. And I sure never thought I'd see the same William Dunbar again. I'm going to have to tell Aelita the truth, at least._

_Journal of Ulrich Stern_

_First Entry_

_Now Milo's keeping a journal too! I think Yumi, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita already did, so now everyone's got one. Aelita finally asked Milo out. Odd is devastated. I warned him. He had a million chances. He says I see other people's emotions in a scary way. I think he might ask Yumi on the rebound._

_It stinks that Odd is mad at Milo. We've gotten to know each other pretty well. Aelita is his girlfriend and is closest to him, but I think I might be his best friend out of the boys. He and Yumi are nice to each other and hang out sometimes, and they're friends, but not best friends. Oh well. As long as he feels like it Aelita can be his girlfriend and I can be his best friend._

_Odd is _really_ mad. I don't see why. He was trying to get over Aelita. If he asks Yumi out just to show me how it feels, which he might do, as opposed to really liking her, I will be pissed. But _Aelita_ liked_ Milo. _No point getting mad about it._

_Keeping a journal isn't bad. It's nice to write these things down. I wonder what Milo and Odd are thinking about._


	9. Chapter 9

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 9

_"I'm not going to tell you where the disk is!"_

_"Wait a moment… Is that my daughter?"_

_"No! Aelita is not your daughter!"_

_"Frazier Pohonp, Franz I. O. Hopper, remember?"_

_"I don't believe it!"_

_"Is that the Imprisoned One?"_

_"Yes, Aelita, it's me. But I am Franz Hopper."_

_"I don't believe it!"_

_"Neither does Jeremy, but that doesn't make it any less true. Do you want proof?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Take a look at this picture. Your mother took it when you were four."_

_"You stole it from Franz Hopper!"_

_"Oh, did I? Do I need to show you the signature on his credit card? And how mine matches?"_

_"No need. I can run a genetic scan to see if you're Aelita's father."_

_"Fine."_

_"Genetic scan, complete."_

_"The results?"_

_"It's… true."_

Aelita was typing rapidly. She had spoken to Jeremy and Frazier Pohonp really was Franz I. O. Hopper. Her father. The panel Jeremy had managed to program wasn't strong, but she could use it. Her only project was breaking through the game. So far, she hadn't succeeded. And Jeremy had used nearly all the resources they had just to design this panel. She touched another button on the screen and several numbers floated out of the void.

"All right," she said under her breath. "That's a start." She started pulling programs around furiously. The numbers were coming together. "Virtualization," she said. The numbers formed themselves together. They hardened and took on shape. Aelita picked up her creation. A baseball. Well, it was a start.

"So what are we going to do now?" asked Xanite. "We know everything we have to know. But so does Xana. Frazier Pohonp is kicking Jeremy and William around like there's no tomorrow. Aelita had to use William's life force to get Ulrich and Jeremy back from the dead. And they're still both barely alive."

"Aelita is doing some serious programming," said Milo. "Xanite, you have to cut Xana out of your bonds."

"I'm doing it as we speak," said Xanite. "I found a very effective spell for it in Sam's book."

"All right," said Milo. "You're loose enough that you can probably control information flow. Aelita is trying to program a way out. So far, the best thing she's been able to create here is a baseball, but nonetheless."

"Our mission hasn't changed," said Odd. "We still have to free Aelita within three days or she gets mauled, and within five days or it's game over. For all of us."

"You're right," said Milo. "This doesn't really change things. Unless Aelita can find a way to program the way out, our objectives don't change at all. Save Aelita and beat the game."

"We have to get going," said Yumi. "We're wasting time we don't have." And she started to run, the others trailing after her.

_"I want to talk to my daughter."_

_"Fine."_

_"Jeremy! Don't give in!"_

_"He can't touch the controls. But I can open a link with Aelita. He has the right to talk to her."_

_"He's the Imprisoned One!"_

_"He's also Franz Hopper."_

_"He tried to kill you all!"_

_"He saved Aelita's life."_

_"He's evil!"_

_"There are good and evil in every mind. More evil then good in his, but the half of him that loves his daughter more then anything has earned the right to a conversation with her."_

_"Thank you, Jeremy. Now open the link."_

_"All right. Aelita. Frazier Pohonp wants to talk to you."_

_"I'll talk to him. What do you want?"_

_"For you to join me. We can get rid of the others. We can have Lyoko to ourselves. This game world too, if you like it. Xanadu and Troy as well. Join me, Aelita, and we can have every world there is. Including Earth."_

_"I'm sorry. I could have joined Franz Hopper. But then he became Frazier Pohonp. Goodbye, Mr. Pohonp. Maybe someday you'll let me speak to Franz Hopper."_

_"Goodbye, Ms. Stones. Maybe someday you'll really be a Hopper."_


	10. Chapter 10

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 10

_"Enough!"_

_"William! Ah!"_

_"Aelita… Are you okay?"_

_"I'm really not a Hopper, am I?"_

Are too, Milo was thinking. He was sending it to Aelita as they ran. You are a Hopper. He's a Pohonp. He's the one who deserted your family.

"Milo," said Yumi. "What's Aelita doing now?"

"She's talking to Jeremy. They're working on the way."

"Are we nearly there?" Odd groaned.

"No," said Milo. "I think it's still about two days at a run."

"We can't do it," said Ulrich. "Even if I Super Sprinted the whole way there, we couldn't do it. We have to rest."

"We need to get some horses," said Xanite. "I know a friendly person who can help us."

"Who is it?" asked Milo.

"Well, I don't know his name. But he calls himself Xx."

"Zuh… What?" said Odd, trying to pronounce it.

"Xx. It isn't important. He is an… investigator of sorts. We were partners for a time. If I need something, he'll get it for me."

"So we need horses. Can Xx get us five?" asked Yumi.

"I think so," said Xanite. "I've never known Xx to fail. He is completely reliable, but his ways of obtaining things are… questionable."

"He's a thief," said Milo. "All right. I can live with that. Since we're already on the run from the police, there's no reason not to take the horses from Xx."

"I'll contact him," said Xanite. "There is a spell for that in this book. Xx. Link. Hey, look. Numbers." A strand of binary code had appeared in mid air, reading 00000000. Then it changed to 100101Xx.

"Amazing," muttered Milo. "The spells are codes that we add into the Programming Code. I'm guessing you just programmed a hole in the fabric of the game."

"I didn't get any of that," came a voice from the code. "Xanite? Is that you?"

"Xx. It's an emergency situation and I need you to acquire some things for me," said Xanite.

"What's the situation?"

"We're trying to rescue Princess Aelita and we need horses," he said. "And we need them to be in the village where Commander Lawrence lived at midnight. By the late Commander's house."

"Did you have anything to do with his death?" asked Xx suspiciously. "And are you going at this alone? Or are the noble Sir Milo and that good-for-nothing Odd with you?"

"Milo, Odd, and two brave mercenaries," said Xanite. "Ulrich and Yumi."

"Ulrich, huh? I've heard of him. All right, my friend, this sounds like a good investment. Consider it done."

"What payment do you need?"

"Nothing. Tell Milo we're even."

"For what?"

"The Third Battle of the Second Campaign of the Royal Wars."

"Hey, Milo," said Xanite. "Does someone owe you something from the Third Battle of the Second Campaign of the Royal Wars?"

"Yeah," said Milo. "I stopped the execution of a spy for our side who everyone thought had turned traitor."

"That's me," said Xx. "Thanks, Milo. You were to be married to the Princess, yes?"

"Yes."

"Consider us even."

"All right. Get us the horses and we're even."

"They'll be there. Get moving!" They did. The binary code vanished as they ran.

_"Enough! This fighting is not benefiting anyone! We can compromise."_

_"What are you saying?"_

_"Let me get Aelita and Xana off the disk, and everyone else gets free as well. Even Xanite. I can show you how to free him from Xana."_

_"Don't do it!"_

_"What? Aelita?"_

_"That's a message from Xanite. He says don't do it. So does everyone in the game except Xana."_

_"You heard the vote, Pohonp. We won't do it."_

_"Enough, Willy! I am finished with you!"_

_"Ah!"_


	11. Chapter 11

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 11

_"Willy, Willy, Willy. What am I ever going to do with you? You won't listen to me, you won't deal with me, you maintain that I'm evil even though I care for my daughter."_

_"You care for the bit of yourself you hid in her. You aren't capable of caring for anyone."_

_"Xanite is going to die along with me and Xana. I don't even know how Aelita survives when I don't."_

_"She's a good person. Xanite is too, but he's a part of Xana. He could survive with you dead, but not with Xana dead."_

_"You have one or two good insights. Maybe I'll harvest your brain and uplink it once you're dead."_

_"Are you going to kill me, Mr. Pohonp? Because that is the point of no return. If you murder me, you're evil, and nothing you can do will change that."_

_"There is no 'good' or 'evil.' They are the same thing as the Hierarchy. There is only the Hierarchy. I am strong. You are not. Therefore I am good and you are not."_

_"You were insane long before you became Frazier Pohonp, Franz. The Hierarchy is the lie that evil uses to excuse itself. Good and strong are not the same things. I do not fear death, Franz Hopper. I do not fear you."_

"How reliable is Xx?" asked Yumi as they ran.

"Very," said Xanite. "We can trust him. He's indebted to Milo. He'll help us."

How are Jeremy and William doing? Milo thought to Aelita. The reply came immediately.

Not good. But William will win. Have faith.

The connection took no energy to use. Milo and Aelita were in constant contact. It almost felt as though she was with them. Of course, he had to relay what she said to the others, but in essence, they were together.

"Three hours until midnight," said Ulrich. "We can make it if we can keep up running. Can we?"

"Are you kidding? Of course," said Odd. "This is the return of Xana we're talking about. The only thing I can even say to that is 'No Surrender.'"

"I can add to that. 'Never Look Back,'" said Yumi.

"The Pale Horse will not catch me yet," said Xanite with a grin.

"For the want of a nail the war was lost. But for want of goodness and justice it was won," said Milo. "Aelita says that we won last time. There's a precedent. Xana has never won a battle without the help of a servant. There's no one this time. No monsters, no Xanadores, nothing. We're going to get rid of him for good. We're going to win."

"There's the two remaining commanders," said Xanite. "They'll happily stand in our way."

"That's just right, isn't it, rogues?" came a voice. "I am Commander Frederick and I will fight you to the death."

"Look, Freddy," said Odd. "We really don't have time for this, and you didn't bring any soldiers. If you want to survive, you can leave."

"Commander Frederick, what do you know of Princess Aelita?" asked Milo.

"She was kidnapped by Xana from her true love, who was a knight from somewhere or other. Why?"

"We're trying to rescue her. I'm her true love. Sir Milo," said Milo. "If you really believe it was kidnapping and Aelita deserves to be rescued, you'll help us, not stop us." Frederick stood there, pondering the idea.

_"Every creature fears death, Willy."_

_"I don't. I was a Xanadore. I know what 'a fate worse then death' is."_

_"Then suffer death, if it is so unimportant!"_

_"William!"_

_"William!"_

_"Jeremy, Aelita, if he kills me, make sure they beat the game."_

_"Okay."_


	12. Chapter 12

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 12

_"Jeremy, don't let William die. I can handle things on this end, just make sure Frazier Pohonp doesn't kill William."_

_"All right, Aelita. Hey! Pohonp! Look at this!"_

"All right, Sir Milo," said Frederick after a long wait. "You can pass. If you're in the next town over within three hours, I never saw you. Go." Nobody waited to thank him, and they all dashed down the path. They didn't see Frederick pull out a spell book and start a communication link. "Xana? Milo is going to the town closest to where I am. My belief is that the man called Xx is leaving something there for them to pick up. I suggest you set up an ambush immediately."

"Very good," came a smooth, seductive voice out of the binary code. "Rally the troops. I shall give Milo and his friends a welcome they will never forget."

Milo was running like he had never run before. He felt like he was flying. Aelita was keeping up a constant audio feed. He could hear Jeremy and William fighting Frazier Pohonp.

"There's a Checkpoint coming up," said Xanite. "I used to wonder why they called it that, but now I know we're in a video game, it makes more sense."

"So if we die we go back to the Checkpoint?" asked Odd.

"If this were a normal video game, that would be the case. But since we're in the game, I imagine that it would be more like our corpses returning to the Checkpoint. See, Xana had even modified it. It's normally a floating eye, but now it's a floating Eye of Xana." It was. The mark was yellow and rotated in midair. It was about as tall as Odd or Xanite, the shortest of the group.

"That's creepy," said Yumi, shuddering. "I always hated that symbol, but seeing a giant one flying? That's really creepy." Everyone else felt it too, as if they had been dunked into a bucket of cold water.

"It's because Xana's power is so strong here," said Xanite. "He warped this game like he warped Lyoko. And Xanadu and Troy, before it."

"I hate him," said Milo. "He ruins everything! Even when we've beaten him for good and lived six months of being normal kids, he reveals that it was too good to be true. He will always come back, won't he? We're condemned. We can never leave school, because if we do, Xana will come back and we won't be there to stop him."

"No. You're going to have normal lives after this one. This is the last adventure for you guys," said Xanite. "I swear." They were past the Checkpoint. They just ran for a few more hours, no one saying anything. Finally, at eleven forty-five, they were in the town square. It was quaint, with cobblestones and wood buildings galore. A man stood in the shadows, leading five horses.

"Good to see you," Xx said, his voice gravelly. "Here are your horses."

"Thanks, Xx," said Xanite.

"Don't mention it. Now hurry. You have two days," said Xx. And he vanished in a swirl of binary code. Everyone quickly jumped onto their horses and shot off. They were only a day away.

Aelita was still programming. After the baseball, she had proceeded to a football, then a pumpkin. Finally, she had managed to program a living thing. A chipmunk. It was in the corner, eating the pumpkin. The little hole in the game's reality was now permanent. Numbers floated out practically at random. Aelita was trying to shape them into futuristic weapons. She focused, and the numbers formed into a pizza. Well, it was from the future. Now she just had to figure out the weapon bit. In the mean time, she did love pizza.

_"William, if I die, tell Milo to eat his heart out."_

_"Jeremy, if I die, tell Ulrich to eat his heart out."_

_"What if you both die?"_

_"Then everyone else will probably be dead shortly anyway. Hey, look! A thing!"_

_"Where? Ow! Damn!"_

_"I can't believe he fell for that."_

_"Believe me, William, being a genius is not all it's cracked up to be."_


	13. Chapter 13: The Penultimate Chapter

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 13

_"I'm a thinker, not a fighter, William."_

_"Fight anyway!"_

_"Silly. Little. Boys. The power is with me!"_

_"Oh my god!"_

Castle Xana was in view. It was a huge, gaudy affair, taller then any building Milo had ever seen. Odd rode to his left and Xanite to his right. All weapons were drawn. No one harbored any delusions about getting in without a fight. Indeed, a huge troop was patrolling the gate. At the back, Milo could see a man in the armor of a commander.

"I am Commander Julian!" the commander shouted from the gate. "Surrender immediately!"

"I am Sir Milo. I will see Xana," said Milo calmly.

"Of those facts I am aware. But none except Sir Milo shall enter the castle," said Julian. "If you wish to make a battle of it, I can comply. But first Milo enters." Milo didn't ask questions. He dismounted and ran into Castle Xana. The others tried to follow him but were immediately met by Julian's soldiers. The battle commenced.

Milo was running. He was going up the stairs and he was at the platform in front of the final flight of stairs leading to Aelita. A man stepped down from the passage. He was tall and his skin was white. His fingernails and teeth were yellow, but not organic yellow. They were sharp, robotic yellow. He wore a long blue robe. His nose was thin and ill formed. His mouth was a black slash across the bottom of his face. His fingers were peculiarly long, his fingernails filed to a point. Worst of all were his eyes. The pupils were not Eyes of Xana. The whole eye was. He smiled and Milo was more terrified then he had ever been in his life. But he didn't let it show. He spoke.

"Hello, Xana."

"Hello, Milo," Xana said, and his voice was demented. Evil. It cracked from low to high in a heartbeat. "You've caused me a lot of trouble. I've looked forward to meeting you face to face."

"We aren't face to face," said Milo quietly. "I know what you are. In the real world, a computer sits in an abandoned factory. Few people know of its existence. Fewer people care. It is ugly and unnatural. The only reason it is sentient is because an evil man threw a fragment of himself into it. So there it stands, proud as an atrocity, a crime against nature, the conscious, evil supercomputer stares out at the world. That's you, Xana. You are an evil act that went too far. I came here to stop it once and for all."

"And I know what you are, Milo Salian, boy warrior," said Xana. "You do not care. You stand in flesh and blood but see no one as your family. Your dismissal of everything makes you as isolated as I am. And that isolation makes us strong."

"I am not isolated. The thing that makes me strong is that I connect to other people. I have friends. I have a family."

"Look at the world this way," Xana said, raising his hand. A cloud of zeroes and ones flew at Milo and floated into his head. "You have nothing." And Milo felt despair and pain. But then he found the power to speak again, every word tearing against his throat.

"I have a girl to love. I have a brother. I have a friend who doesn't know the first thing about computers, and a friend who knows everything about them. I have a friend who dresses in black, and I have a friend who you tortured and possessed. Do you want to know what we have in common? We're all better then you." He rose, and silently took out his double-sword. Black smoke flew at Xana to form a double-sword in his hand. They started to duel.

_"This is unbelievable! Milo is taking on Xana alone!"_


	14. Chapter 14: The Last Chapter

The Medieval Delusion

Chapter 14

_"Has he gone nuts?"_

_"I guess. If he wins, it's game over for Xana."_

"You're going to die hard and die alone, Milo Salian," said Xana, swinging the sword ruthlessly. Milo was employing every trick he knew, every power he had. That was when he noticed that someone was running down the stairs. Aelita had gotten free. She prepared an energy field in her right hand. Silently, Milo nodded. Then he started talking to Xana.

"I feel sorry for you, Xana. Is there anything you want to do in the last few moments of your life? Repent, maybe?"

"I will not repent," said Xana. "I am the victim of you insufferable bastards. If you had simply let me go about my business, I would not have had to kill anyone."

"Even now your ego gets in the way of the truth," said Milo. "I wish you luck in the afterlife, Xana. Do tell me if there is one." Then he flung himself to the ground, kicking Xana's legs out from under him. He then positioned the double-sword at Xana's neck. "On three, Aelita?"

"On three. One. Two. Three." Milo stabbed in and Aelita threw the field. Xana's blood ran yellow out of his neck before he exploded. He uttered one final sentence before he died.

"Hector of Carthage will continue for me."

"Who is Hector of Carthage?" Milo yelled. But it was too late. Xana was gone, just a stain on the floor. Milo embraced Aelita as they felt the bliss of materialization flow over them.

In a second they found themselves sprawled on the floor in the Scanner Room with the others except Xanite. Everyone stood up. Aelita and Milo were still holding hands.

"Frazier Pohonp," said Milo, and they dashed into the elevator and went up to the laboratory. They saw William and Jeremy fighting the Imprisoned One. Apparently he was winning. Then he pulled out a gun when he saw them.

"I didn't want to kill anyone," he said. "But I'm in trouble now." William kicked the gun out of his hand. It flew through the air and Aelita caught it. Pohonp started to appeal to her as she held it unsteadily in her hands, aiming at no one. "You are my child, Aelita, flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. Help me get rid of these children and we can be a family." Aelita pointed the gun at Milo, not speaking. The Imprisoned One's eyes glowed with victory. "Just pull the trigger. It might seem hard, but it's for the best. I beseech you, Aelita. Prove once and for all that you're a Hopper." Aelita just stood there for a minute, breathing slowly. Then she whirled around and promptly shot Pohonp. There was no blood. He started to flake away, as though he was materializing from a virtual world. He had given his soul to Xana. Now Xana was taking it back. He, too, uttered final words. "I see now. I was an evil man. I beg you, stop Hector of Carthage!" Then he was gone, and Aelita dropped the gun. She seemed to be beyond crying.

"He saw the way," said Milo. "Just as he was dying, he really did see the way."

"I see it too," said a voice from the computer monitor.

"Xanite! You aren't dead?" asked Milo, rushing to the screen. Everyone crowded around to see Xanite on the monitor, standing in the tower Aelita had been locked in.

"Not until you shut down the game. But you have to do it. Once you do, I'm in the Digital Sea. If you don't, Xana will come back again through me. But don't worry. You weakened Xana so much that I won't actually die," said Xanite with a grin. "I can do research. Once I break away from Xana I can contact you. We can see what will happen." Aelita gulped and stepped forward.

"Xanite. You're like my brother."

"I am your brother. Frazier Pohonp made us both," said Xanite. "That's why I have to come back. I can't leave my sister behind."

"I'll miss you," said Aelita, swallowing hard. "I don't want you to die again. Not after all of this."

"I won't be dead. But you guys have to find out who Hector of Carthage is. Looks like there isn't a happy ending to this fairy tale," said Xanite glumly.

"That's okay," said Milo, thinking back on everything he had done. "Sometimes, there's just more story to be told."

Log of Xanite 

**Entry #1**

I have started research into breaking free. Where it will lead me, I do not know. What I can say is that Hector of Carthage may not come for years or years. But as Milo put it, there is more story to be told.

Author's Note

Felix speaking. I have to apologize that this is such a short story. I intended it to be five chapters when I started. But it had to be told how it was. I just thought I would leave you all the name of the next installment in the Calling Chronicles. It's going to be called 'Coming to a Head.' It takes place when everyone is an adult. I will now promote it with a lame, commercial style barrage of questions: Who is Hector of Carthage? Will Xanite be rescued? Is there going to be a World War Three? Find out these things and more in 'Coming to a Head!

I'm sorry you all had to hear that.


End file.
